Reading Becomes Storytelling...

Now you can tell stories, not just read them. Based on traditional Japanese picture-card dramas called kamishibai (paper theater), the Storycard Theater^® format allows you to read to a group of children while showing them the pictures. No longer do you have to twist your neck to read a picture book! And with the freedom to look your audience in the eye, you can concentrate on the performance. Reading becomes storytelling. It’s easy and fun.

Storycard Theater^® dramas are printed on 12 sturdy, 13-inch-wide (33 cm) cards. They’re small enough to hold comfortably, yet large enough to showcase the colorful artwork. The back of each card features clear, kid-tested text and a smaller version of the image the audience is seeing.

These storycards are ideal for classrooms, birthday parties, daycare centers, family gatherings, and for students learning English. In fact, many children enjoy performing them for each other, or inventing their own stories based on the artwork.

Colorful History
The kamishibai (kah-mee-shee-bye) format dates back to the 12th century, when Buddhist monks traveled Asia with pictures to enhance their stories and lectures. The modern format launched in downtown Tokyo during the Great Depression, when thousands of people were suddenly looking for work. Between the 1930s and 1950s in Japan, it was common to see kamishibai storytellers in parks, fields, or on street corners — wherever children gathered. Riding up on bicycles with a small wooden stage mounted on the back, these enterprising men sold candies and snacks to the children, and then launched into a dramatic performance. (Children who bought candy got to sit closer.) It’s estimated there were once 50,000 kamishibai storytellers in Japan. Unfortunately, as television and movies began to lure children indoors, these storytellers gradually disappeared.

Leaf Moon Arts is excited to bring back this unique and effective form of storytelling. Learn more about our stories or attend one of our performances. Then try it yourself. We think you’ll see why Storycard Theater^® owners call the series “spellbinding.”

About Leaf Moon Arts
Leaf Moon Arts draws on classic folktales from around the world to produce stories that demonstrate positive themes to children, such as love, kindness, and honesty. Through Storycard Theater^®, we hope to help children establish good values — and have fun — for many years to come.